BREAKING THIS MORNING — BINZ DROPS OUT: President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead FERC announced Tuesday that he had pulled his name from consideration in the face of mounting opposition from coal supporters and a stalemate in a crucial Senate committee. The fall of the former Colorado utility regulator Ron Binz is a stunning setback for the president, who has succeeded in winning Senate confirmations for far more controversial nominees at EPA and elsewhere. Perhaps just as striking was the political fervor brought to bear against a nominee to lead a regulator that is little known outside of Washington, and one that typically restricts its work to the highly technical rules for the nation’s energy backbone of power lines and pipelines. Darius Dixon has an exclusive interview with Binz: http://politi.co/1hhIn4A

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Coining a new term: The American Energy Alliance, whose criticisms of Binz contributed to his confirmation troubles, quickly shot out a statement saying Obama’s climate agenda “just got ‘Binz'd.’” AEA President Thomas Pyle added: “Ron Binz was the wrong nominee at the worst possible time for American consumers. His record of radical advocacy and regulatory bias was too much to overcome, even for Harry Reid's rubber-stamp Senate. His performance during the confirmation process left much to be desired, in the end proving the nominee too inartful and potentially untruthful for the Senate to confirm.”

HEY! WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS? It’s official: The government is closed for business. Now it becomes a question of how long it will last, how agencies and their work will be affected, and whether any energy or environmental riders (think Keystone XL) make their way into any final deal. See below for the latest on what is and isn’t happening.

ICYMI: Yesterday’s ME had details on how the shutdown affects EPA, the Energy and Interior Departments and other federal agencies: http://politi.co/18FkEKm.

Raw doc: The memo to agency heads from OMB Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell, released at a quarter to midnight: http://1.usa.gov/15FRuMD.

WILL ENERGY ISSUES MATTER AS MUCH? The previous government shutdown in 1995-1996 helped fuel anger thanks in part to the tempting visual of millions of Americans being turned away from American landmarks like the Grand Canyon. Will that happen again this year? “During the ‘96 shutdown, the White House put out a single topline message —‘the shutdown imperiled Medicare, Medicaid, education and the environment’ was the mantra,” says Paul Bledsoe, who was an aide to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt at the time and is now a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund. “One reason the environment rated was that closed and gated national parks, wildlife refuges, and public lands, turning away American families, became perhaps the iconic image on television, day after day. The issue had a real impact in forcing an agreement.”

Recent history: Pros will remember one of the Obama administration’s favorite talking points before sequestration hit was the effect the budget cuts would have on the national park system — indicating it once again may be messaging the White House feels resonates with the right people.

SIERRA BLAMES GOP: The Sierra Club won the award for first energy group to get a statement to ME’s inbox. Executive Director Michael Brune: “The government shutdown we now face means no cops on the beat against toxic pollution. It means that we’ll have to dress like oil executives if we want to visit our national parks and monuments. It means hundreds of thousands of Americans are at home instead of at work. And it means House Republicans who couldn't achieve their reckless agenda through elections or legislation are willing to sacrifice the health of our families and our communities to simply score political points.”

THE SHOW MUST GO ON: Much of the government is shut down for now, but several congressional committees aren’t letting that stop them from holding hearings as scheduled.

Hearing codename — “Secret Agent Man?”: The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will still hear from John Beale, the EPA employee who pleaded guilty last week to stealing almost $900,000 from the agency over more than a decade. Deputy EPA Administrator Bob Perciasepe and Inspector General Arthur Elkins will both be there (as presidential appointees both remain on the clock during a shutdown). 9:30 a.m., Rayburn 2154.

Why “Secret Agent Man”? Beale claimed he worked for the CIA while actually taking time off — but the rabbit hole goes much deeper than the details revealed last week in court indicate. The charges against Beale encompass only what investigators said they found between 2000 and 2013. It actually amounted to much more, they told senators yesterday. Erica Martinson has all the details for Pros: http://politico.pro/1eVt2tK.

U.S.-Mexico deal: Meanwhile, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee meets to go over legislation related to the U.S.-Mexico Hydrocarbon Transboundary Agreement. The panel will consider a bill on the matter from Chairman Ron Wyden and another bill that cleared the House this summer. That House bill lost support from Democrats after the GOP added an amendment shielding oil and gas companies from a Dodd-Frank rule requiring disclosure of payments to foreign governments. Refresher: http://politico.pro/1bnoUCe. 9:30 a.m., Dirksen 366.

PUT OFF: The shutdown has postponed a House Science Committee hearing scheduled for today on reauthorizing the National Integrated Drought Information System.

OUT IN THE COLD: A group of Olympic athletes and outdoorsmen connected to the group Protect Our Winters were set to meet with Obama administration officials and lawmakers today, but those meetings are on deep freeze with the shutdown. The group — including Olympic snowboarders Gretchen Bleiler and Callan Sifsof and Burton Snowboards CEO Donna Carpenter — had been planning on pushing for action on climate change after what they say is diminished snowfall.

THERE WILL BE RIOTING: The National Zoo’s panda cam is among the government operations going dark, the AP notes: http://abcn.ws/19RbZDb.

WHAT IS STILL HAPPENING: So much attention gets put on what the government isn’t doing in a shutdown, ME thought we’d run down some of the things that are still happening: Most oversight and inspections of ongoing oil and gas drilling, both onshore and offshore. Most of the National Weather Service’s operations will continue. FERC will maintain minimal oversight of market activities and will monitor the grid for reliability. The U.S. Geological Survey will continue monitoring for earthquakes and volcanos and will keep samples at the National Ice Core Laboratory chilled. The Mine Safety and Health Administration will continue inspections on certain mines with a history of safety issues and will review and approve mining plan revisions. The Labor Department's Office of Workers Compensation Programs can keep paying out Black Lung Part C benefits (as long as the trust fund has enough money). The Hoover Dam, including the visitor center, will remain open.

They voted ‘neigh’ on a shutdown: The Bureau of Land Management will continue to care for the animals at its wild horse and burro facilities.

Nice timing: Today’s Google Doodle? Celebrating the 123 rd anniversary of the establishment of Yosemite National Park (currently closed to the public): https://www.google.com/.

CLIMATE AT THE COURT? The government may be shut down, but the Supremes are still rocking away on the hill. Court-watchers expect that the Supreme Court will release decisions as early as today about which cases they’ll take from a long list that went to conference Monday. That includes eight separate petitions asking the high court to take another look at EPA’s regulation of CO2 under the Clean Air Act. The petitions — from Chamber of Commerce, the states of Texas and Virginia, Southeastern Legal Foundation, the Coalition for Responsible Regulations, the American Chemistry Council, a manufacturing group and a utility group — hit on a broad swath of questions from EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases to how the agency has crafted and implemented its climate regulations. Get refreshers on the petitions here: http://politico.pro/16DN8GB. And here: http://politico.pro/11mzaBE

Will they grant cert? Expectations are varied and often tainted with wishes, ME has found. The high court did already rule to allow EPA to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act in the landmark 2007 case Mass. v. EPA, and early indications after a unanimous win for the agency in appeals court suggests the chances are slim that the court will reconsider its previous win. But few would be surprised to see the court consider some pieces of the agency’s regulatory programs. If the court does take up the issue, ME expects a Washington circus as the high court once again puts the Obama administration’s policies on trial.

A special treat for the legal nerds, especially the ones who are furloughed: Here’s a transcript of oral arguments from Massachusetts v. EPA: http://politico.pro/18HCOuU

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE: The court also considered taking up two non-climate change energy cases on Monday. In Luminant Generation Company v. EPA, the court could consider the limits of EPA’s authority over states with regards to air pollution. The court could also take a case challenging how the Federal Communications Commission regulates some utility poles in American Electric Power Service Corp. v. FCC.

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TODAY IN INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORTS

EPA IG says ‘no evidence’ of malicious email use: EPA’s inspector general has found no evidence that senior agency officials used private email accounts to circumvent agency recordkeeping requirements, according to a report the IG released today. The report says it “found no evidence” that senior officials “had used private email to circumvent federal recordkeeping responsibilities,” information that is “based only on discussions with these senior officials.” But the agency needs to have better guidance and implement “oversight processes to ensure” consistent and regular training, and avoid inconsistent procedures for when officials leave the agency to avoid losing records. “EPA also lacks an automated tool to create federal records from its new email system,” the report says. Report: http://1.usa.gov/18GQIO7.

Interior IG flags issues at offshore renewable energy program: The Interior Department’s offshore renewable energy regulations are incomplete and contradictory, and should be fixed before Cape Wind begins construction shortly, the agency’s inspector general says. The report recommends Interior finalize the appropriate regulations and document internal procedures. The IG also flagged a secretarial order giving BOEM regulatory oversight of offshore renewable energy, in addition to its development role — a move designed to help streamline the nascent program, but a potential conflict of interest, the IG says. It recommends that BOEM and BSEE collaborate to develop inspection protocols housed at BSEE. Read: http://on.doi.gov/1dSMCUv.

MSHA needs to improve investigation process: The Mine Safety and Health Administration could improve its so-called Section 110 special investigation process, which deals with mine operators who don't comply with the agency's orders or violate health and safety standards, the Labor Department IG says. More than two-thirds of the cases reviewed didn't meet their timeframe, 8 percent of cases had documents missing and the agency did no document why it declined investigations in 6 percent of cases, the report says. MSHA argued that investigation timeframes are management goals, not a regulatory requirement, and that investigators have to balance their assignments. Report: http://1.usa.gov/1hgyxzU.

— Pros might remember congressional Republicans were quite upset last year over the $6,325 the General Services Administration spent on coins at its infamous Las Vegas conference.

DOE DOUGH: The government may be out of funds for now, but that’s not stopping DOE from putting out a call for applications for a plan to keep funding energy research centers for five years at a total cost of $500 million — assuming Congress eventually coughs up that money. The 46 current “energy frontier research centers” (which can be based at universities, nonprofits or private firms) were set up on five-year funding plans in 2009, so DOE wants to set up another round of funding. Of course, all of this depends on whether Congress appropriates the money as part of any eventual FY 2014 spending plan. Letters of intent for funding requests are due Nov. 13 and full applications due Jan. 9. More from DOE: http://1.usa.gov/18lRL57.

OUT TODAY: POLITICO’S GUIDE TO OBAMACARE — Ready to set the record straight on what’s really in the law? Check out POLITICO Pro’s new, comprehensive guide to the law — just in time for the launch of Obamacare enrollment today. “Understanding Obamacare: POLITICO’s Guide to the Affordable Care Act” is a detailed, plain-English explainer of how the law is supposed to work and how it might work in reality — and it’s loaded with fact checks of the talking points both sides are throwing around as the Obamacare debate heats up. It’s POLITICO’s first-ever policy guide, and it covers both the politics and the nuts and bolts. The guide, written by Pro’s David Nather, is now live on the website, where you can read just the chapters you want or download the whole thing as a pdf. Check it out: http://politi.co/1aIpGp5.

BE AN AGRICULTURE PRO: Pro Agriculture, the second of three new Pro policy areas launching this fall, will debut on Wednesday, Oct. 2, and will feature breaking news and inside analysis from our best-in-the-business reporters. To learn more about Pro Agriculture, email info@politicopro.com or call 703-341-4600.

QUICK HITS

— Lawyers argued yesterday that BP lied about the rate of oil leaking from the Macondo well after the 2010 spill. Reuters: http://reut.rs/1eUY3xK

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Authors:

About The Author

Alex Guillén is an energy reporter for POLITICO Pro, where he covers EPA, regulations and coal, as well as lobbying and campaign finance in the energy realm. He previously wrote the Morning Energy newsletter. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., with a degree in anthropology and English. He is an avid reader and TV binger. The Delawarean, thrilled that there are finally Capriotti’s outposts in Washington, lives in Alexandria, Va.